PIAC accuses GNPC, GRA of ‘hijacking’ Ghana’s oil cash

The 2017 Annual Report published by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), has indicted two state institutions, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for hijacking monies realized from Ghana’s oil sector.

According to PIAC, instead of releasing the monies to the Ghana Petroleum Holding Funds as stated by law, the institutions keep them in their individual accounts.These monies running into millions of dollars are yet to be released by these two institutions after over a year.

In the report, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, GNPC, and the Ghana Revenue Authority were supposed to transfer a total of $13,618,511.78 to the Ghana Petroleum Holding Fund for onward distribution into the statutory funds prescribed by the Petroleum Revenue Management Act.However, these two institutions have failed to transfer the funds as far back as 2017.

Out of the $13 million, the Ghana Revenue Authority wrongfully received a sum of $13,518,852.98 into its accounts contrary to the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act. This money was supposed to be paid by the Oil companies to the petroleum Holding Fund, but was mistakenly paid to the GRA, even though it was not the first time the oil companies were making such payments to the Petroleum Holding Fund.

The GNPC, on the other hand, was supposed to transfer a total of $99,658.80 monies it has received as premium on the sale of the Ghana Group’s second lifting from the TEN fields in 2017. The monies by law was supposed to be sent to the Ghana Petroleum Holding Fund at the Bank of Ghana, but has since not been done.

The PIAC is recommending that the unacceptable recurrence of the wrongful transfer of petroleum funds into the GRAs accounts must seize immediately.

Besides “the GRA must immediately transfer the accumulated funds into the Petroleum Holding Fund with the Ministry of Finance providing the needed guidelines to forestall similar occurrences” PIAC said.